ALCOAST 228/17 - AUG 2017 COAST GUARD'S 227TH BIRTHDAY

R 011145 AUG 17
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS//N05700//
ALCOAST 228/17
COMDTNOTE 5700
SUBJ:  COAST GUARD's 227TH BIRTHDAY
1. August 4th, 2017 will mark the Coast Guard’s 227th birthday.
2. On that date in 1790, President George Washington signed an Act, passed by
Congress and championed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton,
that authorized the creation of a federal fleet of 10 revenue cutters charged
with enforcing laws and protecting commerce of the new nation. Since the
federal government did not have a navy at the time, the small federal fleet of
sea-going, revenue cutters was the only naval force capable of protecting U.S.
maritime interests on the high seas and along the coastline. National defense
has therefore been a core mission since our founding.
3. Revenue and later Coast Guard cutters, along with the men and women in
Coast Guard service, participated in all of the nation’s major conflicts since
its founding, including the Vietnam War. Now 50 years hence, we honor those
who served our nation in Southeast Asia.
4. Coast Guardsmen first answered the call after the Navy requested Coast
Guard support for operations in the waters off South Vietnam. Coast Guard
afloat units, both WPBs and WHECs, served in two Coast Guard squadrons in the
waters of Southeast Asia and engaged in combat patrols, gunfire support, and
humanitarian missions. After a request for navigation support, the Coast Guard
established Long Range Navigation (LORAN) stations throughout Southeast Asia,
in an important operation codenamed "Tight Reign". Additionally, Coast Guard
aviators served with Air Force search and rescue units and the buoy tenders
established maritime aids to navigation. A Port Security and Waterways Detail
and Explosive Loading Detachments ensured the safe loading and unloading of
vital munitions in theatre and a Merchant Marine Detail provided needed
support of merchant marine personnel and vessels. Many Coast Guardsmen and
their Public Health Service shipmates conducted numerous medical support
visits to South Vietnamese villages and distributed food, clothing, and toys
to those in need. 
5. The Coast Guard role in South Vietnam ended with the closing of LORAN
stations in South Vietnam and Thailand in 1975, as Saigon fell to North
Vietnamese forces. The Coast Guard’s service was not without cost, as eight
Coast Guardsmen perished in the line of duty in Vietnam, while another
61 were wounded in action. It would do well, on this Coast Guard birthday,
to remember their sacrifices along with the sacrifices of all Coast Guardsmen
who gave their all in service of their country.
6. Over the next years the Coast Guard will continue to support efforts to
recognize the service of its veterans in Vietnam. For more information
please visit our website at https://www.uscg.mil/history/ops/wars/VTN/VTN
-Index.asp. Eligible Coast Guard Vietnam Veterans may obtain lapel pins from
The Vietnam War Commemoration. For details please see:
http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/lapelpins/.
7. Ms. Ellen Engleman Conners, Acting Director of Governmental and Public
Affairs, sends.
8. Internet release authorized.